Anyway, I stole this post from Beth over at Hear a Snippet Here, whose blog name I invariably type as “Here a Snippet Hear”. And I wrote this on Thursday night – I did not have class today! Actually, this is a scheduled post: I’m not in front of my computer at the moment (for once). I went to the mall with my best friend, who is mentioned several times below, so we can work on our social lives.

Let’s begin.

Full Name: Well, as I’m secretly a vampire, my name is much too long to be contained on a single screen.

No, to be serious, I don’t like vampires all that much. I also don’t like my full name (or first name) all that much. I’ve been stuck spelling everything constantly since forever.

Age: 21

Birthday: 7 Nov 1991

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 92 Truths about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, copy and paste this note, erase my answers and enter your own, tag people in the under portion of the app then click save.)

^^Okay, I have no idea what that is about. But as you’re apparently supposed to leave it, I’ll leave it in.

WHAT WAS YOUR:

1. Last beverage : Water! Part of my mission to improve my life and drink more water.

2. Last phone call : Not counting that I accidentally fake-called myself today and gave me a fright, my best friend called me to talk about ereaders and music and going out later.

3. Last text message: I texted my mum to say I’m done with class and on my way home.

4. Last song : The theme song to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Yes, I’m doing a rewatch due to withdrawal.

5. Last time you cried : I’m not sure. I’m not really a crier. It may have been the last time I watched Lord of the Rings and that was a while back (I’m just too busy!). Without fail, when Sam starts crying in the Grey Havens scene, I sympathy-cry because it is just so beautiful and tragic and I can’t handle that all at once. Hey, I even cry when reading that scene in the book!

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. Dated someone twice: Nope.

7. Been cheated on:  Not in the way you mean. Online video gaming, oh yes. I swear that is the place where you learn all you need to know and more about human nature.

8. Kissed someone & regretted it : Well, I wasn’t the kiss instigator…

9. Lost someone special : Of course, haven’t everyone? That obviously doesn’t make it hurt any less.

10. Been depressed: I’ve posted about this too many times before, so let’s just settle for the shortest yes.

11. Been drunk and threw up : Look, my own freakin’ liver gets drunk all by its lovely self, without me drinking anything, and makes me throw up. I don’t need alcohol for that. Also, I’m a teetotaller.

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:

12. Green

13. Blue

14. Brown

SINCE LAST YEAR (2012), HAVE YOU:

15. Made a new friend : Wait, is this since the beginning of this year of the beginning of last year? That question is seriously unclear. Anyway… no I don’t think so. I’m getting to know several new people at the moment, though.

16. Fallen out of love : I guess so? I’m quite good at tripping and falling, even on flat surfaces, in flat shoes. I’m sure where this love you’re mentioning is, though.

17. Laughed until you cried: I don’t think so.

18. Met someone who changed you : … no. Well, not in real life.

19. Found out who your true friends were : I already knew.

20. Found out someone was talking about you: I have a built-in invisibility cloak. People don’t notice my existence in the first place so they can’t gossip about me.

21. Kissed anyone on your FB friend’s list : I don’t have a Facebook. I don’t know if my friends have Facebooks or friends or Facebook lists of friends.

GENERAL:

22. How many people on your FB friends list do you know in real life: I don’t have a Facebook. Aren’t you listening to what I’ve been saying?!

24. Do you have any pets: No. Allergies… I want one of these though. If I don’t turn out allergic to them as well.

25. Do you want to change your name: No, not even with all the grief it gives me, like having to spell all the time. No, not even should I get married.

26. What did you do for your last birthday : I think… I believe I wrote an exam. Or I was preparing to write an exam. My schools and university have been nice enough to give me an exam for my birthday every year for about the last 10 years. I was also busy not falling behind in NaNoWriMo.

27. What time did you wake up today: 8am. I only had class at 14:30.

28. What were you doing at midnight last night : I was on Twitter…?

29. What’s something you can’t wait for : I can wait for lots of things.

30. Last time you saw your mother : Three hours ago when I left the TV to come hide in my room.

31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I could really do without this last assignment of the semester in my life. Actually, I could do without having to do Literary Theory at all. Ugh.

32. What are you listening to right now: Myself chewing a ginger cookie. My favourite!

33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom? I don’t know any Toms. I did know a Tom about ten years ago as he was in my class. More or less that.

34. What’s getting on your nerves right now: The assignment I mentioned in #31.

35. Most visited webpage : Pretty sure it’s my Tumblr. *checks browser stats* Yep, Tumblr.

37. Nickname(s) : My friends called me Ellie in school. I haven’t heard it in a while though. My internet nickname has been Hildemary for years now. Mostly because it is almost never taken. And don’t you dare steal it now!!!

38. Relationship Status: Single. By choice.

39. Zodiac Sign : Scorpio.

40. He or She: What is this question even asking? Is there a reference I should get?

41. Elementary : I did not go to elementary school. Change your terminology and I might answer.

42. Middle/High School : Neither did I go to middle school. Okay, I did go to high school.

43. College : Technically, I do not go to college either, as it is a university, but I’ll stop being so obnoxious about words. I’m currently in my fourth year and I think this may be the best year yet. I study Eeeeenglish.

44. Hair color : Naturally, dark brown leaning towards black at my neck.

45. Long or short hair : Long. Finally. I cut it the shortest it has ever been two years ago. Oops. A bit of a mistake. Now it is finally waist-length again.

46. Height : 1.6m (5’3″)

47. Do you have a crush on someone? : Real or fictional? Because I only go in for fictional crushes.

48. What do you like about yourself ? : Patience to still be working through these questions.

49. ? : Where’s the interrobang?

50. Tattoos : Eh-he-he-he, not my thing. The white ones are pretty though.

51. Righty or lefty : Lefty. I think. I hate this question so much I might just write a whole post about it. Oh, idea!

FIRSTS :

52. First surgery : The digging out of two wisdom teeth from wherever they were hiding in my skull when I was 18. Which was horrible. It has also been my only surgery so far.

53. First piercing : I had ear piercings when I was 12. I’ve badly wanted a helix piercing for ages now, but I’m too pathetic to just get it done.

54. First best friend : I’ve had the same best friend since I was 7 and I’ve already mentioned her in #2. We even share a birthday! Obviously I used to see her every day at school for 11 years… now, we’re lucky if it’s once every two months. *sigh* Thank goodness for modern technology.

55. First sport you joined : The sport of always being last and horrible at everything physical.

56. First vacation : As we live very far from my parents’ families, we’ve always been visiting since I was little. Apparently I used to like it. Now, ehhhhhhhhsigh. According to my mother, the first time I saw the sea, I went streaking for it and totally freaked everyone out.

57. First job : My first editing commission when I was 18.

58. First words : “Pa”, as in “papa”. Most kids start with “ma” or “mama”, but I’ve been against mainstream since birth. ;P

RIGHT NOW:

59. Eating : Nothing! I’m not brushing my teeth again!

60. Drinking : Still working through my bottle of water. I’m almost done, though!

61. I’m about to: Stare half-heartedly at the assignment I’ve already mentioned twice and then go to bed.

62. Listening to : Imagine Dragons’ album “Night Visions”. I actually bought it and I’m really proud of that fact!

63. Waiting for : The next Hobbit-film. Still six months to go…

YOUR FUTURE :

64. Want kids? : No, thank you. Actually, I don’t think I can have kids.

65. Get Married? : I don’t think I’m really the type. And there’s no shame in that, incidentally. It is a life choice, just like any other. Wow, sorry for the outburst. It just really annoys me that women are defined by marriage in this world. I might get married, though I consider it unlikely, but mostly what I want is that this wouldn’t determine who I am as a person. And if someone comments on this to say “oh honey, you just haven’t met the right guy yet” I will consider my point about society completely proven.

66. Career?: I have to make some choices about this at the moment and, no, of course this doesn’t freak me out. I need a sarcasm font.

WHICH IS BETTER :

67. Lips or eyes : Eyes are more important than lips.

68. Hugs or kisses : I’m uncomfortable with hugs and I think I still have psychological scarring from that time when I was little that my… grand-uncle (I think. My grandma’s brother, I’m none too good at these terms.) grabbed me and kissed me full on the mouth with his huge moustache. Which is not to say he’s some sort of pedophile or pervert. That was just how he always greeted you. I think I started crying when he tried it with me.

69. Shorter or taller : You have to be talented to be shorter than me (kidding), so I’ll say taller.

70. Older or Younger : Not too picky, but older. Just a bit. Not like 20 years.

71. Romantic or spontaneous : You have to hit me over the head with a mallet before I notice romance.

72. Nice stomach or nice arms : … I don’t know?

73. Sensitive or loud: Loud completely overwhelms me, so, sensitive.

74. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship. No question.

75. Funny or Shy?: Funny (any kind, preferably nerdy humour) is very important but shy is cute, though I wouldn’t wish social anxiety like I have on anyone else.

HAVE YOU EVER :

77. Drank hard liquor : I don’t know what counts as hard as I’m laughably bad at knowing about liquor. My parents allowed me little sips of all kinds of things ever since I was little and then I turned teetotal (see #11) before I was legally allowed to drink (which is 18 here). I know, I know. I’m a campus joke.

I had a martini once. I didn’t like it. Goodness knows how I even managed to get it, as I was way too young. Apparently that waiter didn’t have eyes! Beer, champagne, wine… bleggggh. I don’t like the taste.

Missing two questions again… Okay, you guys make something up and I’ll answer it.

80. Broke someone’s heart : I don’t think so. No hearts were harmed during the process.

81. Had your own heart broken : You don’t want to know how many books have torn out my heart and then broken it into little pieces and then burnt the pieces. (I’m looking at you, HP6. I don’t think I was ever the same after reading you.) I don’t know how many hearts I still have left to lose!

82. Been arrested : No. Been glared at for being thought too young to drive though.

83. Turned someone down : Yeah, I told someone just the other day there wasn’t any space in our elevator for him to squeeze into.

84. Cried when someone died : Yes. All of them fictional characters. No, I did cry at a funeral once, but I was crying because everyone else was crying and it’s really hard to see grown men weeping.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

86. Yourself : Yes. Except for all the times when I don’t.

87. Miracles : Yes, miracles do happen. Even today.

88. Love at first sight: Regarding human interactions: yeeeeeeeahhhno. Love on first page: absolutely! I would prefer love on first page. Though book relationships that slowly mature and grow on you until you realise after half the book that you are irrevocably in love… yesssss, my precious, those are good too (Reference: my relationship with LotR.).

89. Heaven: Yes. Though I’m not sure about the specifics a lot of the time.

90. Santa Claus: No. Never have either.

91. Tooth Fairy: *Ooh! Copy and paste!* No. Never have either.

92. Angels: Yes.

—

I don’t know how soon I’ll have another post ready with all my other work, but until then

I was intending to pick something out of the weird recommended books that my eReader keeps throwing at me, but this one came hopping and waving at me out of a Goodreads recommended list. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (and yes, there is a pun in the title).

ISBN: 9780143188445

Pages: ~400

Blurb:

“A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be.”

In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao plans to document the life of her great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in a ways she can scarcely imagine.

Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.

A Tale for the Time Being was only published in March 2013, so it is bright, spanking new. You can tell from the writing too. This is a book from a contemporary world about a contemporary world. It is about a world of iPhones and internet and googling and Silicon Valley. It is set in 2012. You might even encounter the odd emoticon in the text.

If I was forced, however, to put a genre to this book, I would probably run away and hide in a corner with a blanket over my head. It is a bit of postmodernism, a bit of magical realism, a bit of diary-form novel (What is the term for that? Can I call it an epistolary novel?), a bit of documentary, a bit of bildungsroman and a bit of teenage angst. All of these things are mixed together to somehow form a coherent whole.

The story is told in switching focalization – between Ruth in British Columbia and Nao in Japan. Nao writes in her diary (apparently in purple glitter pen) and Ruth is reading said diary that was washed up on her beach after the March 2011 Tohuko earthquake and tsunami. In this diary, Nao intends to tell the story of her fascinating great-grandmother, but actually ends up telling the reader more about herself and her own life than anyone else.

Nao is a very compelling story-teller and her parts of the novel left me wanting more each time her chapter was finished. Not only are her parts a crash course in Japanese culture, indeed her writing is strewn with Japanese characters (all translated in footnotes, I was very grateful to see), but she is also an interesting person. On the surface, she is the girl whose life is made hell for her at school and this drives her to suicide, but she is much more than that. She is not helpless, she has a mean streak, her comments on her society are interesting and her family situation is… interesting.

Ruth, on the other hand, is more interesting from a literary point of view. Yes, she shares a name with the author of the novel. But it goes deeper than that – right into postmodernism. She also lives in the same place as the author, according to Ozeki’s website. Her husband’s name is also Oliver, just like the author’s husband. She is also a Japanese-American now living on an isolated island in British Columbia, just like the author. Ozeki’s website doesn’t mention if she also has an annoying cat, though. In Ruth’s parts of the novel, the borders between fiction and reality are broken down to the extent that I caught myself questioning the fictiveness of this story. You begin to think that this is actually an autobiography… and I also think that was the author’s intention to play with the reader in that way.

Actual events are mentioned and play a role in the story. Besides the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and then the subsequent Fukushima meltdown, 9/11 is also important for the story, as is the bursting of dot-com bubble.

I did, however feel that this book slacked off a little in the middle. Not enough to significantly influence the plot, but enough that I stopped reading for a couple of days (not necessarily a bad thing as I had a stack of homework), so I’m taking half a star off my rating for that. On that note, I’m rating A Tale for the Time Being

stars.

It’s a great book and I’ll definitely consider rereading it some time. Of course, I did read it digitally, so I cannot comment on any annoyances in the print editions. The only thing that I can say might be an annoyance is the footnotes translating the Japanese. I don’t know if they will be displayed as footnotes or endnotes in the print editions. Footnotes are one thing, but if they are endnotes, it might be annoying to be paging back and forth all the time. If I had to do that, I’d feel as if I’m reading one of those horrible books on Freud or hermeneutics for class and I might not enjoy it as much. In the digital edition you just touch the little superscript number and immediately get the note as a pop-up. So that’s convenient.

I hope some of you will check out Nao and Ruth’s tale and I’m sorry I’m so bad at book reviews. I really do enjoy writing these posts though; it’s just that I never know how to review without spoiling everything.

And yes, I know it’s not Wednesday by a long shot anymore. My mind is all messed up because the university decided to change their entire schedule this week so my classes were temporarily moved and so it messed up my brain totally. But now I need to go work, as I’ve done embarrassingly little so far this week. Until next week’s cartoon (hopefully on the right day, this time).

Check back next Wednesday for the promised book review and gushing.

But for now, adieu!

I know, it’s beyond cheesy, but that’s Shakespeare for you. Obviously Bassanio didn’t say those exact words, but that entire scene has this intense chemistry and strong sexual undertones, so I thought it was time to bring out the cheese machines.

Anyway, this thing just keeps getting longer and longer. At first I thought three parts would be enough and now I’m not sure if I could do it in four. But isn’t that the problem with every single adaptation ever? You always have to make choices about what to cut and what is important and how do you prevent the whole thing from becoming unwieldy? I’ve already left characters out and I still feel that I have too many.

I won’t be posting the next part next week as it is time for another book review (before I forget what I was going to say for it). Remember how I said I was going to pick a random book out of my usual genres and tastes to read over Easter break? I did just that (spoiler alert: it was great).

Now I’ll be getting some sleep as I’ve been so busy drawing Shakespeare for the internet that I haven’t done my own Shakespeare homework for tomorrow (reading Cymbeline). Tomorrow morning will then obviously mean some top-speed reading.

Hope you enjoyed this and while you’re at it, raise a glass to old Wills, will you? (I just did it with my water bottle.) It was probably his birthday yesterday. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny the influence he had on the English language. So, thank you, William Shakespeare.

My being-not-impressed-ness started when Goodreads made their big announcement. You know I don’t like Amazon while Goodreads is one of my favourite websites. I don’t want Amazon messing that up.

More detail on @Goodreads joining @Amazon: dlvr.it/38RDhT @laurahazardowen—
  (@goodreads) March 28, 2013

I felt slightly better after reading that article in the above tweet. But I still don’t trust them.

Editing my Shakespeare assignment. It wasn’t that clean anymore after I’d done with it.

On the third of April, it was graduation. It was boring, the chairs were uncomfortable and I was cold. But it was better than I expected. I don’t actually remember my actual moment of graduation – I was completely zoned out on stage fright. I remember hearing the Dean mispronounce my name (but I was expecting him to, so whatefs) and shaking hands with the Vice-Chancellor and then I don’t remember anything really, until I got off the stage again. At least I didn’t trip and my hat didn’t fall off…

From that stack of books to this assignment. My Shakespeare paper is finished.

I handed in my Shakespeare paper and then promptly got sick. Yeah…

I would seriously appreciate knowing why sneezes always come in threes. Aicho! Aicho! Aicho! *awkward pause*—
Elana (@elanawithane) April 06, 2013

Words!!! Why won't you come?! I need to finish writing!—
Elana (@elanawithane) April 07, 2013

And then being sick meant that I lost two days of writing my next paper. I was starting to get desperate by that Sunday (the paper was due for the Tuesday), as I’d spent two days sleeping the flu off, instead of researching. By that evening I had to admit defeat and decided to ask for an extension.

Haven't been out the door since Thursday afternoon. Hello fresh air!—
Elana (@elanawithane) April 08, 2013

It actually felt good going back to class.

Too many books to work through.

Even getting the extension I wanted didn’t lessen my frustration with this assignment. Mostly, I just never want to see it ever again.

If you suddenly hear me singing old musicals or something, know that it's because this spelling is driving me nuts. http://t.co/Q8w3xyBSTM—
Elana (@elanawithane) April 11, 2013

Incidentally, that dedication says: “To the most high, mighty and magnificent empress renowned for piety, virtue, and all gracious government Elizabeth by the grace of God Queen of England France and Ireland and of Virginia, defender of the Faith, etc. Her most humble servant Edmund Spenser does in all humility dedicate, present and consecrate these his labours to live with the eternity of her fame.” He also didn’t like commas much.

There's nothing like the adversity of a power-cut when you're trying to finish an assignment. #pleasedontdielaptop—
Elana (@elanawithane) April 12, 2013

Seriously, world? I was using a headlamp to see my notes and praying that my laptop battery would last. I probably shouldn’t have wasted time by tweeting about it either… We got another cut the next morning as well. Someone had it in for us.

Too many papers. This was later that evening, after the power came on.

My bed was absolutely covered in papers. Yes, I work on my bed. Generally I work on the floor when I have that many papers to refer to, but I was cold.

Assignment, you’ve just been pwned!

Finally, it was finished. I also removed all the books, papers and notes from my bed and made a huge stack of them.

Now I never want to see it ever again. I handed it in last Tuesday and I’m so over struggling with that spelling. But I’m probably in the wrong business if I don’t want to struggle with spelling anymore… I don’t know why I always take pictures of my assignments, but I always do. A weird habit, I guess.

And that’s what’s happened since you last heard from me. The most interesting thing that happened to me in that whole time is I got chased by a sprinkler. And that wasn’t very interesting at all. Mostly, it was just embarrassing. After all that writing, I’ve become extremely lazy again this weekend. All that I’ve written in the past two days was this blog post and a fanfiction.